Glenwood Springs, America’s Most Fun Small Town, has a knack for creating crowd-pleasing diversions. This summer, the Colorado resort town, known for its world-famous mineral hot springs, is bustling with fresh activities and attractions that include new restaurants, a new cave tour, a new comedy show, two new sweets shops and even a new parking garage.

A young visitor chooses her favorite treats at the new Grand Avenue Sweets

Glenwood Springs has great energy; there’s always something happening – a music festival, farmers’ market or special event. Our visitors are often repeat guests, coming back for the experiences they love and intrigued to try something new

Glenwood Springs, Colo. (PRWEB) June 13, 2013

Named America’s Most Fun Small Town by Rand McNally and USA Today and also one of America’s Coolest Small Towns by Budget Travel, Glenwood Springs is not a town to rest on its laurels. With the start of the summer season, there is even more to do in the town already known for its high fun factor.

“Glenwood Springs has great energy; there’s always something happening – a music festival, farmers’ market or special event. Our visitors are often repeat guests, coming back for the experiences they love and intrigued to try something new,” said Lisa Langer, vice president of tourism marketing for the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association. “We are thrilled to be able to offer all these new opportunities to our visitors this summer.”

New: The expanded Historic Fairy Caves Tour at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park takes visitors on a 50-minute guided walking tour with a stop at Exclamation Point for breathtaking views of both the Roaring Fork Valley and Glenwood Canyon. Guides explain how the caves were discovered, developed and explored, and replica period lighting provides a glimpse of what a cave tour in 1897 might have been like. Visitors can look forward to seeing pristine cave formations, including pendants, boxwork, stalactites covered in cave popcorn and enchanting reflecting pools. The park is also home to a variety of rides, ranging from the mellow Mine Wheel and Wild West Express to extreme thrill rides like the Cliffhanger Roller Coaster, Giant Canyon Swing and Soaring Eagle Zip Ride.

New: Two new sweets shops are adding a delightful new flavor to the historic downtown area, pleasing Glenwood Springs’ locals and visitors of all ages. Grand Avenue Sweets is located on Glenwood’s main drag. A red-and-white-striped awning invites visitors to step back in time for a classic old-fashioned candy store experience, complete with barrels full of salt-water taffy, Bit-O-Honey, Jolly Ranchers and other classic candies. Storeowner Kathy Fangman also carries nostalgic candy bars like Clark, Good News, 100 Grand, Look and Abba-Zaba bars, as well as 12 varieties of fudge.

Sweet Adventures is located across the street from Glenwood Adventure Company on Cooper Avenue, both owned by entrepreneur Ken Murphy. After an outdoor adventure of rafting, cycling or exploring Glenwood Springs aboard a Segway personal transporter, stop in for an ice cream cone, old-fashioned soda or malt. The Sweet Adventures ice cream parlor offers 32 flavors of premium ice cream for sundaes, floats, shakes and malts, as well as more than 100 varieties of nostalgic candies.

New: More variety, new owners, new locations and growing accolades keep Glenwood’s dining scene hopping. Chang Thai at 1814 Grand Avenue near Sayre Park is the town’s newest eatery. The Asian restaurant is receiving rave reviews for its flavorful MSG-free cuisine, including pad thai, noodle dishes, curries and spring rolls. Open daily for lunch and dinner.

Kanpai Sushi + Bar located at 3950 Midland Avenue, next to Mountain Market on the way to Sunlight Mountain Resort, offers expertly rolled sushi, an extensive selection of sake and live music. The local clientele claims that this spot rivals any sushi bar in metropolitan Denver.

Russo’s New York-style pizzeria on Market Street in Glenwood Meadows has expanded its space and its menu. In addition to offering whole pies and pizza by the slice, New York natives Frank and Judy Schiavone are introducing home-style family recipes like spaghetti with clam sauce, fettuccine Alfredo with Tuscan chicken and fusilli with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil.

The Grind, Glenwood’s go-to place for high-quality burgers, has moved to a bigger location to accommodate its growing number of fans. The new digs at 720 Grand Avenue, upstairs in the King Mall, offer plenty of seating and, of course, locally sourced, handmade burgers. In addition to The Grind, the owners also operate Zheng Asian Bistro in Glenwood Meadows and recently purchased one of Glenwood’s most historic dining venues, The Riviera Supper Club. The Seventh Street restaurant is famous for its rooftop neon sign and for Mable’s Prime Rib, the recipe for which has remained unaltered since 1965. Henry & Mike LLC, which owns all three venues, was a top-100 finalist out of 900 nominations in Colorado Companies to Watch, hosted by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.

New: Glenwood’s very own quirky comedy show, the Glenwood Vaudeville Revue, has an all-new season of sidesplitting laughs with summer shows every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The two-hour family-friendly show features professional talent performing a variety of hilarious skits, jokes, high-energy dance numbers and novelty songs with all-new original material. The Glenwood Vaudeville Revue revives the tradition of vaudeville acts of the Old West, when travelling shows were greatly anticipated and were often the only form of entertainment in remote areas of the country. The time-honored tradition continues at the Blue Acacia Theatre in the Masonic Lodge, located at Ninth Street and Colorado Avenue in Glenwood Springs. Dining is a-la-carte and doors open at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

New: Finding a place to park in downtown Glenwood Springs just got a whole lot easier. The newest addition to downtown is a parking garage located at Ninth Street and Cooper Avenue, just one block east of Grand Avenue in the heart of Glenwood’s premier shopping, dining and entertainment district. The new garage features 150 spaces with 74 covered parking spots on the street level and 76 outdoor parking spots on the upper level. Park for free and play all day in Glenwood Springs!

About Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs is located between Aspen and Vail, 165 miles west of Denver and 90 miles east of Grand Junction on I-70 off Exit 116. Glenwood Springs is home to many attractions and amenities, including Hanging Lake, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, Glenwood Hot Springs, Yampah Vapor Caves and Sunlight Mountain Resort. For more information about Glenwood Springs, Colorado, call 970-945-6589 or go to http://www.visitglenwood.com/. For lodging reservations, call 888-4-GLENWOOD (888-445-3696). A complete press kit, press releases and downloadable photos are available at http://www.visitglenwood.com/media.